Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ANKARA1048
2008-06-05 13:33:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:
TURKEY: BUGGING INCIDENT BOOMERANGS ON OPPOSITION
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001048
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: BUGGING INCIDENT BOOMERANGS ON OPPOSITION
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b
,d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001048
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: BUGGING INCIDENT BOOMERANGS ON OPPOSITION
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b
,d)
1. (C) SUMMARY. Hastily condemned as Turkey's own
Watergate, an alleged government bugging incident is looking
increasingly like a technical blooper by the supposed
"victim". Despite evidence to the contrary, opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal stands
by his man, Secretary General Onder Sav, in blaming the
government and fueling fears of rampant wiretaps and
buggings, but has dropped threats of a censure motion against
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and is
supporting the AKP-initiated parliamentary investigation
instead. Whatever the result, the sudden focus on various
agencies' broad mandate for electronic eavesdropping -- in
principle, an important counter-terrorism tool -- has alarmed
the public and renewed fears of the Fethullah Gulen group's
grip on the police. A June 4 Court of Appeals ruling that no
institution may conduct nationwide wiretapping abolished the
Jandarma's wiretapping authority and may pave the way for
annulling similar powers held by other security and
intelligence agencies. If Sav's incident was human error,
CHP will look foolish. But the government, and the state,
may also take a hit if further investigation reveals
widespread abuses that intrude on, rather than protect,
Turkish citizens. END SUMMARY.
CHP Refuses to be Sheepish
--------------
2. (SBU) After Islamist daily Vakit published a transcript of
Secretary General Sav's meeting with former Bolu governor Ali
Serindag in late May, Sav furiously accused the government of
bugging his office, blaming the Turkish National Police (TNP)
and its possible connections to a religious order. After
both landline and cellular providers' records confirmed that
Sav received a 44-minute phone call from a Vakit journalist
during the meeting with Serindag, Sav stubbornly insisted he
had been bugged. The Vakit journalist claims Sav failed to
end the call, allowing him to listen in while Sav and
Serindag discussed the political climate in Bolu, groused
about Prime Minister Erdogan's unannounced R&R visit to the
province, and speculated about religious brotherhood
connections of cabinet members.
3. (SBU) At CHP's parliamentary group meeting June 3, Baykal
charged that publishing such a conversation "in a militant
newspaper of the government" was a crime, adding that the
judiciary was taking up the issue. He claimed the incident
revealed a prime ministry arrangement to listen in on 70
million citizens. Baykal implied that the Fethullah Gulen
community, widely believed to dominate the TNP, was
collecting information suitable for blackmail.
4. (SBU) Media tone underwent a 180-degree about-face over
the weekend, from the initial "Watergate" comparisons to
sharp criticism of CHP and calls for Sav's resignation for
misleading the public, fueling paranoia, and being too inept
or out of touch to use a cellphone properly. By June 4,
media attention had incorporated details of a questionable
contract of indentured servitude between CHP -- in the person
of Sav -- and Kanalturk television station.
Parliament Scrutinizes Electronic Surveillance
-------------- -
5. (SBU) In a June 1 written statement, TNP Intelligen
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: BUGGING INCIDENT BOOMERANGS ON OPPOSITION
Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, for Reasons 1.4 (b
,d)
1. (C) SUMMARY. Hastily condemned as Turkey's own
Watergate, an alleged government bugging incident is looking
increasingly like a technical blooper by the supposed
"victim". Despite evidence to the contrary, opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal stands
by his man, Secretary General Onder Sav, in blaming the
government and fueling fears of rampant wiretaps and
buggings, but has dropped threats of a censure motion against
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and is
supporting the AKP-initiated parliamentary investigation
instead. Whatever the result, the sudden focus on various
agencies' broad mandate for electronic eavesdropping -- in
principle, an important counter-terrorism tool -- has alarmed
the public and renewed fears of the Fethullah Gulen group's
grip on the police. A June 4 Court of Appeals ruling that no
institution may conduct nationwide wiretapping abolished the
Jandarma's wiretapping authority and may pave the way for
annulling similar powers held by other security and
intelligence agencies. If Sav's incident was human error,
CHP will look foolish. But the government, and the state,
may also take a hit if further investigation reveals
widespread abuses that intrude on, rather than protect,
Turkish citizens. END SUMMARY.
CHP Refuses to be Sheepish
--------------
2. (SBU) After Islamist daily Vakit published a transcript of
Secretary General Sav's meeting with former Bolu governor Ali
Serindag in late May, Sav furiously accused the government of
bugging his office, blaming the Turkish National Police (TNP)
and its possible connections to a religious order. After
both landline and cellular providers' records confirmed that
Sav received a 44-minute phone call from a Vakit journalist
during the meeting with Serindag, Sav stubbornly insisted he
had been bugged. The Vakit journalist claims Sav failed to
end the call, allowing him to listen in while Sav and
Serindag discussed the political climate in Bolu, groused
about Prime Minister Erdogan's unannounced R&R visit to the
province, and speculated about religious brotherhood
connections of cabinet members.
3. (SBU) At CHP's parliamentary group meeting June 3, Baykal
charged that publishing such a conversation "in a militant
newspaper of the government" was a crime, adding that the
judiciary was taking up the issue. He claimed the incident
revealed a prime ministry arrangement to listen in on 70
million citizens. Baykal implied that the Fethullah Gulen
community, widely believed to dominate the TNP, was
collecting information suitable for blackmail.
4. (SBU) Media tone underwent a 180-degree about-face over
the weekend, from the initial "Watergate" comparisons to
sharp criticism of CHP and calls for Sav's resignation for
misleading the public, fueling paranoia, and being too inept
or out of touch to use a cellphone properly. By June 4,
media attention had incorporated details of a questionable
contract of indentured servitude between CHP -- in the person
of Sav -- and Kanalturk television station.
Parliament Scrutinizes Electronic Surveillance
-------------- -
5. (SBU) In a June 1 written statement, TNP Intelligen